Device for connecting a block and two rods or tubes arranged at an angle to each other



p 1 1 J. F. DEENIK ET AL 2,904,361

DEVICE FOR CONNECTING A BLOCK AND TWO RODS OR TUBES ARRANGED AT AN ANGLE TO EACH OTHER Filed Sept. 30, 1958 INVENTORS J. F DEENIK I A. EISSES BY 6W sf Mg ULJLULJLULILLN h. W 8 m R R ,i52M55525. mv 4 5 m mm 7.

ATTORNE Y| United States Patent DEVICE FOR CONNECTING A BLOCK AND TWO RODS OR TUBES ARRANGED AT AN ANGLE TO EACH OTHER Johan F. Deenik, Bilthoven, and Jacob A. Eisses, Utrecht, Netherlands, assignors to N.V. Nederlandse Spanbeton Maatschappij, Alphen a/d Rijn, Netherlands, a company of the Netherlands Application September 30, 1958, Serial No. 764,336

2 Claims. (Cl. 287-54) This invention relates to a device for connecting to a block two rods or tubes arranged at an angle to each other. The invention is particularly but not exclusively concerned with railway sleepers consisting of blocks interconnected by means of rods or tubes and on which blocks the rails are fastened.

The invention has for its object to provide a connecting device by means of which a reliable connection can be achieved rapidly and simply.

According to the invention each block comprises, in addition to an open cavity whose section parallel with the plane through the axes of both rods or tubes has the shape of a trapezium with the long side turned outwards, a double wedge located in the cavity and capable of being forced towards the rear wall of the cavity by means of a screw bolt and a nut secured to the block so as to clamp the rods or tubes between the wedge and the oblique side walls of the cavity.

Due to this construction the blocks, which may be of concrete, can be manufactured and finished in a simple manner and can be transported easily as they have no projecting parts. Owing to the fact that the rods or tubes can be connected to the blocks and released therefrom in such an easy manner, the device can be used for mounting sleepers in a railway track while the latter is in use. When the device is employed in connection with railway sleepers, the rail gauge can be adjusted by varying the depth to which the rods or tubes are inserted into the cavity.

Preferably, when tubes are employed, the dimension of the cavity perpendicular to the plane through the axes of both the tubes at or near the rear wall of the cavity exceeds that at or near the opening of the cavity, and the angle in said plane enclosed by the oblique side faces of the wedge is smaller than the angle enclosed by the side walls of the cavity. Owing to this provision the tubes are deformed to a greater extent near the rear wall of the cavity by the clamping action of the wedge.

If desired the walls of the cavity may be lined by a one-piece metal casing sunk into or embedded in the block.

Further characteristic advantages of the device according to the invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. l is a plan view of a railway track comprising rods or tubes interconnecting the blocks on which the rails are attached.

Fig. 2 illustrates the connection of the rods to the blocks in Fig. 1 before complete clamping by the wedge is effected.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 2.

In the track shown in Figure 1 therails lie onconcrete blocks 2 staggered in relation to each other-and are-im terconnected by means of coupling elements 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the coupling elements are in the form of tubes 3 and each block 2 is provided with a cavity lined by a metal casing 4-. The casing comprises a rear wall 5, plane top and bottom walls 6 and 7, respectively, and side walls 8 and 9 of semi-cylindrical form. These side walls are of somewhat larger diameter near the rear wall 5 than near the opening 10' of the casing.

Between the tubes 3, which are arranged in contact with the side walls 8 and 9, a double wedge 11 is mounted which can be forced towards the rear wall 5 by means of a screw bolt 12 and a nut secured to said rear wall. The faces 14 and 15 of the double wedge 11 cooperating with the tubes 3 are of a circular section which mates the circumferential shape of the tubes. In the plane through the axes of the tubes 3 the angle enclosed by the oblique faces 14 and 15 of the double wedge is somewhat smaller than the angle enclosed by the side walls 8 and 9 of the casing.

When the double Wedge 11 is forced towards the rear wall 5 of the casing 4 by means of the bolt 12, the tubes 3 will be compressed and become more oval near the rear wall 5 than near the opening 10 of the casing, as the spacing of the walls 6 and 7 near the rear wall 5 somewhat exceeds that near the opening 10. In this manner a rigid dovetail connection of the tubes 3 with the block 2 is ensured.

The new device enables the tubes in a railway track in use to be renewed in a simple manner. Starting at one end of a section to be renewed, and after releasing the wedges 11, one tube 3 after another can be removed from the corresponding casing and be replaced by another.

Alternatively, an more particularly when the cavity in the block is not provided with a casing, the nut 13 may be replaced, for instance, by an internally threaded pipe section sunk into the block and adapted to be engaged by the bolt 12.

What we claim is:

1. In a railway trackway, the combination including, sleeper blocks disposed in staggered relation transversely of the trackway to support opposite rails and each having a cavity in an end wall facing the gauge side of the opposite rail, metal casings fitted in said cavities, each of said casings comprising; a rear wall substantially parallel with the said end wall of the related sleeper block inwardly tapering substantially semi-cylindrical side walls disposed obliquely toward the plate, and substantially parallel horizontal top and bottom walls; tubular members having common inner end portions fitted between said top and bottom walls and bearing against said semicylindrical side walls and also having common outer end portions diverging toward related staggered sleeper blocks, a wedge member having arcuate oblique faces for engaging the inner ends of the tubular members, the angle enclosed by said arcuate oblique faces being smaller than the angle enclosed by the semi-cylindrical side walls of said casing, and bolt means passing through the wedge member and having its outer portion in clamping relation to the outer face of the wedge and its inner end anchored to rear wall of the casing.

2. In a trackway, a sleeper unit including two rods of substantially circular cross section, blocks disposed in staggered relation transversely of the trackway, a metal Patented Sjept. 15,; 1959;:-

casing embedded in each block and having a rear wall said rear wall and a screw bolt passing through the wedge and inwardly tapering substantially semi-cylindrical side member and through said nut member to secure the rods walls mating the cross section of the rods, and substanto the sleeper block.

tially horizontal top and bottom walls whose spacing is substantially equal to the diameter of said rods at the 5 References Cited in the file of this Pater!t open end of the casing but which slightly increases to- UNITED STATES PATENTS ward said rear Wall, and a wed e havin substantiall semi-cylindrical side walls also m ating the cross sectioii 706534 Dawson 1902 of the rods and an inward taper slightly smaller than 2547176 saimons 1951 2,759,574 Mlller Aug. 21, 1956 that of the side walls of the casing, and clamping means 10 comprising a nut member locked in the sleeper behind 

